Link , Link , Link , [Episode 1 for #wednesdaythought : Rightwing propaganda and the death of Marcus Lamb, COVID-19 and Fox News crazies.], Link , [Trump is the biggest superspreader the world has ever seen.], Link , [Self-proclaimed "prophet" Mark Taylor warns that "the patriots" will not support Trump if he runs in 2024 unless he denounces vaccines and then arrests all those who "led him astray" and charges them with treason and genocide.], Link , Link , [Now, 30 years later, I worry about the United States, not Sarajevo. The Cato Institute and Freedom House rank every country for personal, economic and human freedom. The worst is Syria; it’s in last place. There are others: North Korea, Eritrea, China, Turkmenistan, Iran, Cuba. How about the United States? It’s not good. The US earned 83 out of 100 possible points this year, an 11-point drop from its 94 of a decade ago. The US has fallen to a new low for political rights and civil liberties, unequal treatment of minority groups, damaging influence of money and increased polarization. There are real problems with partisan pressure on the electoral process, criminal justice, immigration, asylum seekers and disparities in wealth. There are also problems with discrimination based on race, ethnicity and gender. The United States for the first time, was added to a list of “backsliding democracies” in a report by the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. In the United States, some 150 top scholars of U.S. democracy warn that attacks on the “legitimacy of America’s elections” has grown to a crisis point. A Pew Research Center survey released this month said, “Very few in any public surveyed think American democracy is a good example for other countries to follow.” Almost 60% voiced U.S. democracy “used to be a good example but has not been in recent years.” ], Link , [As of today, over 10,000 people in Ontario have died from COVID. Over 40% of those deaths were in long-term care homes.]